Kona Week Feature: Top Ten Tips before the big race by Roman Mica

Congratulations! You've qualified for your first Kona slot. Now
what? Here are the EverymanTri top-10 common-sense things to do in the
days leading up to what will be your best Ironman.

10) Get Plenty of Sleep I was a bit sleep
deprived the morning of the 2007 Ironman Wisconsin, thanks to the drunk
college girl who returned to the hotel at 2:30 a.m. and banged on every
door until she found her own room...which happened to be next to mine.

After training for an expensive race like an Ironman, you want to
get at least a few hours of sleep before the big day. Find a hotel away
from airports, amusement parks and spring-break hot spots. Better yet,
stay with friends or family (as long as they don't have crying
newborns). Most of all, practice going to bed early. Staying up late
every night except the one right before your race will ensure a night
spent lying awake in bed thinking too much.

9) Swim the Swim, Drive the Bike, and Bike the Run If
possible, I recommend getting up close and physical with the swim, bike
and run course in the days before the race. Learn the eccentricities of
the course. Ask around or try emailing the local tri club. It cuts down
on the surprises.

There was an especially enchanted part of the Ironman Wisconsin bike
course my race buddies and I called Rude Monkey Forest. Why? Because
somewhere around the 40-mile mark, when you plunge down into what can
best be described as a tropical forest, you get pelted by something
nasty from the thick canopy of trees. That knowledge in hand, I wasn't
caught off guard when a mystery object smacked my helmet during the
race.

8) Never Try Something New Before the Race Don't
even think about switching to a new type of seat for your bike, race
supplement for your nutrition and hydration, or pre-race diet. The best
thing you can do is the exact same thing you have been doing in the
weeks and months before the race.

When your buddy suggests trying the new Indian restaurant down the
street, just say "no thanks," make yourself a peanut-butter-and-jelly
sandwich and call it a night. After the race feel free to go nuts.

7) Listen to Your Body, Not Your Watch. I've
pretty much given up on using any technology right before a race. There
are two reasons for this: the official reason and my real reason. Official Reason: There's a school of thought that claims endurance athletes have become
too reliant on technology. Instead of listening to their bodies, they
shape their training and racing based on what their Garmin, Polar or
Timex says. Race-day performance is being influenced by data from the
last, short pre-race taper training, not by how you actually feel.

My Reason: Just before the race, I have a hard
enough time checking in and getting all my transition bags together to
worry about heart-rate specifics or data from a brief taper run. I find
it much healthier from a mental standpoint to just listen to my body.
It can be very liberating to simply go for an easy swim, bike or run
before the big show without worrying about numbers.

6) Visualize Victory The week before your race,
find 15 minutes each night and get yourself into a quiet place with no
distraction. Try to remove all the daily clutter from your mind and
visualize the race.

See yourself in the water swimming with a strong and steady stroke.
Visualize yourself running out of the water and putting on your helmet,
biking shoes and sunglasses, and heading out onto the bike course.

Did you notice what I just did?

I completely forgot to see myself removing my wetsuit. That's why
you do this, so that at race time you know exactly what you will do and
how you'll do it. It's a lot easier to go back to transition for gel in
your mind than it is to do it in a race.